When I started considering the drive to DC for the inauguration, my intention was to do a photo essay of the crowd, to talk with them, find out where they were from, what brought them there, what they were hoping for out of this change; instead, I found out what America looked like as a huddled mass, how we hope for a better & more open, understanding world. I found myself in a sea of 2 million of my fellow American's & my thoughts wandered to a better & brighter future for all of us.

I did take many photographs of people in the crowd, but honestly, the idea of approaching them in such a way as to interview them, it just felt intrusive.

When the ceremony began, I felt a sense of excitement in the crowd that I had never expected  could happen in our country, not in this day & age anyway. As the President was being sworn in, I was in awe, of being on the Mall, of being surrounded by so many people, of having the opportunity to actually experience first hand the pressure that is being put on this one man's shoulders, of knowing that if I was employed right now, I wouldn't have been there. It was a bittersweet moment, one of promise, but surrounded by a reality that right now things are still bad, times are still tough & we are, as a people, still struggling to get by each day, we still stress over how we will pay our bills every month, choose what to skip to keep the utilities on or to feed ourselves, with no real solution in sight.

I have hope now with President Obama, I believe we can overcome this period of depression, I can only hope his shoulders are strong enough to carry the weight of expectation this world has put on him.